RavensDagger

  Chapter Fifty-Five - Endearingly plex

  Ivil pulled out the seat across from Twenty-Six and sat herself down. This felt like it was important, at least to the younger woman. "Did you want to order first, or talk first?" Ivil asked.

  Twenty-Six bli the question. "Um... this isn't a fast food pce, so I imagi'll take a while for things to arrive, right? Like I said, I've never really been to a pce like this."

  "It's not too long, but yes, someone has to cook the food," Ivil said.

  "Okay, in that case, um...." Twenty-Six squirmed on the spot. Making choices like this wasn't her forte, Ivil could tell, but Ivil still wao see Twenty-Six put her foot down... or tap her foot dowly, as the case may be. "Let's order first, then?"

  "That sounds good," Ivil said. There was a single menu oable already, as well as a cup of wine and some gsses of water. Fortuhe maitre'd came in and ed the space up before she had time to pin. He left a pair of fresh menus out before bowing and leaving the room.

  Ivil perused the menu for a while, pig somethiively simple to eat. When she was done, she noticed Twenty-Six sweating a little as she stared at her own.

  "Is something the matter?" Ivil asked.

  "I... I was going to order red," Twenty-Six said. "What's aif?" She did not pronouhat correctly.

  "That's alcohol that you take before you start your meal. Think of it as a liquid entrée."

  "What's arée?" Twenty-Six asked while trying to disguise a ge.

  Ivil smiled, then stood up, carried her chair around, and sat oher end of the table, right o Twenty-Six. "Here, let's go over the menu together," she said as she leao the side. She was aware of her chest pressing into Twenty-Six's shoulder and of Twenty-Six stiffening right up at the tact.

  "I-I figure it out, I'm sure," Twenty-Six said. "It's just a menu, it 't be more plicated than a tech manual!"

  "Oh, it's not, but a lot of old traditions were kept alive through ary practices," Ivil expined. "You're not unintelligent for not being aware of some cultural cues, you're just uninformed. Here, these are the starters. They're small, easy to eat... snacks of a sort."

  "Okay," Twenty-Six said with a nod.

  "These are the mains, and these are the deserts for after. Three courses should be plenty, I think. Is there anything that jumps out to you? We could ask for something else."

  "Something not on the menu?" Twenty-Six asked. "Like a secret menu item?"

  "I don't know what that is," Ivil said as she leaned a little away from Twenty-Six to better see her eyes.

  "Oh... my favourite fast food pce has a secret item that's not on the menu. It's called Red Three. It's just three red meals together, but the dessert portion's taken from ... it's better?"

  "I see," Ivil said. "Well, in a pce like this, we bully the chef into doing whatever we want, and seeing as how they're likely professionals, they'll jump to it. But for now, how about you pick what sounds good?"

  Twenty-Six nodded. "Titan wagyu over Saturn Rings? What's a wagyu?"

  "It's a kind of beef. Wagyu is just the term for the quality. sidering the price it might e from a real cow as well."

  "But there are no prices written on here," Twenty-Six said.

  Ivil smiled. "Don't worry about that," she said. Twenty-Six had a few more questions, but she settled on Venusian mushroom tartare, theanian wagyu, and they both decided to see if they'd have room for dessert before any. Ivil relutly stood back up auro her side of the table. Twenty-Six seemed serious about what she had to say, and that meant giving it some level of de. "So, what did you want to talk about?" Ivil asked as soon as the waiter was goh their orders.

  "Um," Twenty-Six said. She shifted in her seat, then visibly stopped herself from fidgeting. "Evelyn... do you... love me?"

  Ivil blinked. "That's a hard question. I don't think I love you, not that way."

  "Oh, okay," Twenty-Six said as she exhaled hard.

  "I would like to, however," Ivil tinued.

  That had Twenty-Six tensing up a little more. "What do you mean?"

  "Hmm, what do you think I meant when I said I was searg for love?" Ivil asked.

  "I don't know?" Twenty-Six said uainly. "I guess you're looking for a, ah, signifit other?"

  Ivil smiled a little. "Yes, that's accurate, but I have the feeling you don't know what that mealy. Twenty-Six, I have only known you for a week and a few days. That's enough to know that I like you. I think that love takes a little lohan that to develop, and ideally it requires that both parties want it to happen. One-sided love is not something I will engage in."

  Twenty-Six's mouth formed a little 'oh' of uanding, then she flushed. "So-so where does that leave us?"

  "At the dating stage, I think," Ivil replied. "Which mostly involves spending time together, getting to know each other, meeting each other's friends and such. If there's a spark, then there's a spark." And if there ark, Ivil would turn it into a bze that would blind the entire gaxy in its fervour, but Twenty-Six was maybe not ready for that.

  "Okay," Twenty-Six said. "I talked to the captain about it. She's... well, old enough to be my mom you know, and she's been divorced three times."

  "I... see."

  "Anyway, she said that it's plicated and wasn't very helpful," Twenty-Six admitted. "But! Uh, I think that... you're very pretty."

  Ivil blihen giggled into her hand. That set Twenty-Six's face afme. "No, no, I'm not ughing at you," Ivil said to calm the young woman down. Her fidgeting had returned with a vengeance. "I wasn't expeg it, is all. You're very pretty too."

  "I'm not," Twenty-Six said with fidence.

  "You are," Ivil replied with the certainty of god overlooking all that was made and deg it good. "I like it when you gush about meid the things you're passionate about, even if I know nothing about them, and I like how quick you are to learn."

  "Those aren't physical things," Twenty-Six pointed out.

  Ivil shrugged. "You have very cute freckles. I like how tall and sort of... awkwardly gangly you are, like a baby horse, and your breasts look very squeezable."

  Twenty-Six choked, and Ivil decided to stop there because she was worried that the younger woman might run out of blood, so much of hers had relocated to her face.

  "I, I meant! I meant that you like non-appearauff about me," Twenty-Six said. "But all I know about you is that you're strong, and nice, and know stuff that I don't. I mean, I know a little about you but it's like...."

  She waved her hands around iually.

  "It's like walking into a ship you've never seen before to service it, but you don't know where anything is. All you've gotten is a look at the outside, and sure you might reize the make and model, but that doesn't mean you know where to pump the oil and how to check the filters!"

  Ivil had never been pared to a ship before. She had been propositioned before, but the offers had never sounded like an oil ge. She wasn't sure what to make of it.

  "I think I see what you mean. You like the look of me, and my power I suppose, but you don't know if you'd like the real me beyond just my appearand strength?"

  "Yeah," Twenty-Six agreed with a firm nod. She was still blushing a little, but it was under... some amount of trol now. "You read the spec sheets all you want, but you don't know until you know."

  "I like that," Ivil said. "Would it help if I told you more about myself?"

  Twenty-Six eyed her food long time. "No?"

  "No?" Ivil asked, surprised by the answer.

  "I mean, yes, I guess, but you 't just trust a ship's diagnostics system. You o observe the ship, test it, see how it haress."

  "You are aware that I'm not a ship. And if I were a ship, I'd be a warship the likes of whio single meic could ever hope to uand all on her own."

  Twenty-Six sat up straighter at that, and her eyes narrowed. "Was that a challenge, Evelyn? Because it sounded like one! Just you watch, I'll know so much about you that there won't be a rattle that I couldn't identify in my sleep."

  Ivil stared while w hard not to smile.

  "Was... was that embarrassing?" Twenty-Six asked.

  "I'd rather choose to think it was endearing," she replied.

  ***

  RavensDagger

  Very happy with this chapter! Hope you enjoy it too! chapter: 26 gets... a smoobsp;Dead Tired Two's audiobook is ung... yesterday! Go check it out! https:///pd/Dead-Tired-II-Audiobook/B0D23972DJ?qid=1715194325 Some of my stories are on TopWebFi!-amon Bun-Stray Cat Strut-Lever A-Dead Tired-Heart of Dorkness-SpeddonVoting makes Broccoli smile!

  The following books are avaible as paperbacks (and as Ebooks) on Amazon. Oh, and there’s like, a billion audiobooks of my stuff now!

  (The images are links!)

  All proceeds go to funding my addi to buying art paying for food, rent, and other ies!

  Thank you so much for all your support everyone! And thank you extra hard for allowio do this for a living; I’ll do my best to keep you eained!